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"CANTWOWALKTOGETHERUNLESSTHEYBEAGREED'' THEORIGINSOFTHEPRIMITIVEBAPTISTS,1800-1840 By JAMESR MATHIS ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL OFTHEUNIVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA 1997 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thisdissertation,byanyhumanstandard,shouldneverhavebeencompleted. Ithassurvivedpersonaldifficultieswhichnecessitatedmygettingajob,cutting severelyintotheamountoftimeIwasabletospendinresearchandwriting. Ithas survivedafirewhichledtoaharddrivecrashandnecessitatedaslowprocessof reconstructingnotesanddraftswhichaddedaboutsixtoninemonthsofworktothe project. Itsurvivedboutsofdespair,depression,anddisillusionment,apervasive — sensethatitwasnevergoingtobefinished. Buthereitis late,butfinished. IhaveaccumulatedinnumerabledebtsIwillneverbeabletorepay. Iwould liketothank,first,myfather,JamesD.Mathis,whodidnotlivetoseehissonearn firstamaster'sandthenadoctoratedegree. Heintroducedmetolibrariesandthe wonderscontainedin theirshelvesatanearlyage. Hepassedontomeathirstfor knowledgeandloveofwritingwhichsustainedmethroughmanyhourstryingtopiece onefi-agmentafteranothertogetherintosomethingresemblingcoherence. Mymother,OletaO.Mathis,carefiillyavoidedthetopicofthedissertation duringthetimewhenIhadnotbeennearthecomputerinmonths. Shewaitedvery patiently,hopefijlthathersonwouldeventuallyfinish. u Iwouldliketothankmysupervisorychairman,BertramWyatt-Brown,fornot abandoningmeevenwhenitseemedhopelesstoallconcerned. Iwouldalsoliketo thanktheothermembersofmycommitteefortheirpatience. SpecialthanksgotoSamuelS.Hill,whomentoredmeandshepherdedme throughtheundergraduateyearsthroughtothispoint. Ifattimesthisworkrisesto thelevelofgenuinescholarship,itisduetotheinsightsIgainedthroughmanylong conversationswithDr.Hillinpersonandbytelephone. Hetaughtmethatamanof scholarshipcouldalsobeamanoffaith,withoutsacrificingonefortheother. Iwouldliketothankmyin-laws,FredandSarahSowell,fortheirassistancein completingthisdissertation. Mychildren,ChristopherJames,JoshuaRhett,and MargaretElaine,providedDaddywithasmuchasfiveortenminutesofuninterrupted timetoworkandhoursofindescribablejoyandlove. Finally,andmostimportantly,Iwouldliketothankmywife,Susan,towhomI alsodedicatethisdissertation. She,morethananyone,isresponsibleforthe completionofthisproject. Withoutherlove,encouragement,prodding,andyes, nagging,Iwouldhavegivenupyearsago. SolaDeoGloria! iii TABLEOFCONTENTS sage ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT v CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 THEPRIMITIVISTDIMENSIONINWESTERNCHRISTIANITY 14 3 THEHISTORICALBACKGROUNDOFTHEPRIMITIVEBAPTISTS 29 4 "THEEMPIREOFJESUSISRISING": THEMISSIONARYSPIRITOF AMERICAN BAPTISTS 53 5 SCRIPTURALARGUMENTOFTHEPRIMITIVEBAPTISTSAGAINST MISSIONS 74 6 "THESEMENGRASPALLTHEYCAN!" THEANTI-SECULAR ARGUMENTOFTHEPRIMITIVEBAPTISTS 114 7 THEREMNANTCHURCHINPRIMITIVEBAPTISTECCLESIOLOGY....144 8 THESPIRITUALNARRATIVESOFTHEPRIMITIVEBAPTISTS 168 9 CONCLUSION 206 REFERENCES 210 BIOGRAPHICALSKETCH 216 iv AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy "CANTWOWALKTOGETHERUNLESSTHEYBEAGREED?" THEORIGINSOFTHEPRIMITIVEBAPTISTS,1800-1840 By JamesR.Mathis December1997 Chairman: BertramWyatt-Brown MajorDepartment: History ThisstudyoffersanewinterpretationofamajorsplitintheBaptist denominationduringatimeofreligiousreorganizationandrevivalinAmerica. HistoriansoftheantimissionorPrimitiveBaptistshavetriedtoexplainthedivisions onsectional,political,economicandsocialgrounds. Unfortunately,theirefforts removethePrimitiveBaptistsfromthecontextofreligiousanddoctrinalchanges sweepingthroughAmericandenominationsduringthesedecades. Infact,thisstudy argues,theologicalanddoctrinalissueswerecentraltotheconflictwhichproduced thePrimitiveBaptistsect. ThePrimitiveBaptistsectaroseoutofaconflictbetweensupportersand opponentsofhomeandforeignmissionsamongAmericanBaptistsintheperiod1810- 1840. ThecontroversysplitchurchesacrosstheSouthandWest,withalarge minorityofministersandchurchmembersformingchurcheswhichopposed participationinmissionaryorganizations,theestablishmentoftheologicalschools,and otherbenevolentorganizationswhichhadbeenorganizedbyevangelicalsintheearly 1800s. ComingoutofaprimitivisttraditioninReformedChristianity,thePrimitive Baptistsformulatedacomprehensiveargumentagainstvariousnewmeasuresfor evangelismandsocialreformintheearly1800s. Theyheldthatmissionsandother religiousorganizationsexceptforthelocalchurchwereunscripturalhuman innovations. Theybelievedthattheadvocatesofmissionswereengagedin commercializingreligionthroughtheirconstantappealsformoneyandtheirbasing membershiponlevelofcontributionratherthanonreligiousexperience. ThePrimitive Baptistssawthemselvesasthelatestdefendersofthepuregospelorder. Theyargued thatotherchurches,becauseoftheiroriginsintheReformationoutoftheRoman CatholicChurch,werenotinfacttruechurches. Theytaughtaformofapostolic succession,pointingtowhattheyarguedwerechurchesineveryeraofchurchhistory whichpreservedanddefendedtheprimitivechurchorderfromhumantraditions developedintheearlypost-apostolicperiod. TheleadersandmemberswhofollowedthemoutofmissionaryBaptist churchesacrosstheSouthandWestwereprotestingdevelopmentswithinchurches anddenominationstheysawatvariancewithScripture. Indoingsotheyarticulateda critiqueofinstitutionalizationinAmericanChristianity,themoveoftheevangelical churchfromprotestingtoadoptingsociety'sopinionsconcerningmoneyandsocial status,andthecorrectmeansofsavingthelost. Ineachoftheseareastheyexpressed onapopularlevelthefearsofmanyconservativetheologianssuchastheOld-School vi PresbyteriansandJohnNevinintheGermanReformedChurch. Whiletheydiffered onmanyparticulars,thePrimitiveBaptistssharedwithotherconservativesalmost identicalconcernsabouttheeffectthenewmeasuresofevangelicalismwouldhaveon thechurchanditsmembers. ThePrimitiveBaptists,intheend,expressedthefearsof manybelieversinandoutoftheBaptistdenominationoverthedirectionthat AmericanChristianitywastakingintheearlyyearsofthenewrepublic. vii ' CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: THEPRIMITIVEBAPTISTSANDAMERICAN CHRISTIANITY,1800-1840. ThisstudyoffersanewinterpretationofamajorsplitintheBaptistchurch duringatimeofreligiousreorganizationandrewialinAmerica. Historiansofthe antimissionorPrimitiveBaptistshavetriedtoexplainthedivisionsonsectional, political,economicandsocialgrounds. Unfortunately,theireffortsremovethe PrimitiveBaptistsfromthecontextofreligiousanddoctrinalchangessweeping throughAmericandenominationsduringthesedecades. TheinterpretationofthePrimitiveBaptistmovementintheearlynineteenth centuryhastwomajorelements. Historianshavetraditionallyclassifiedtheentire antimissionmovementasanexpressionofJeffersonianandJacksonianprotestsagainst thedesignsofsocialandeconomicelites. Therapidprocessofinstitutionalizationof AmericanChristianity,theargumentgoes,bredhostilitytowardsNorthernandEastern ministersandelitelayleadersinthevariousdenominations. Olderministersinthe WestandSouthsawathreattotheirlivelihoodsfromyounger,moreeducated ministerscomingintotheircommunitiesatthebehestofsocietiesandboardsbasedin 'Anoteonterms. Baptistgroupswhichopposedmissionswentbyanumberof names,somegiventothembytheiropponents: Hard-shells,BlackRockers, Kehukeites,antimissionBaptists,OldSchoolBaptists,andPrimitiveBaptists. Ihave followedmodemconventionofusingthetermPrimitiveBaptist,evenwhenreferring 1 NewYorkCityto"christianizetheheathen." Laypeopleresentedtheconstant appealsformoneyfromtheboards. Inreaction,theantimissionmovementled hundredsoflocalchurchesoutofthemajorBaptistdenominationinthelate1820sand 1830s. MorerecenthistorianshaveexaminedthePrimitiveBaptistsandthelarger antimissionmovementwithinthecontextofabroaderprimitivist orrestorationist dimensioninAmericanreligiouslife. Whilebothapproacheshelpusunderstandthe riseofthePrimitiveBaptists,theygivesUghtattentiontothespecifichistoricaland doctrinalbackgroundofthemovement.'^ Oftheworksontheantimissionmovement,onlyNathanHatch,Bertram Wyatt-BrownandRichardT.Hughestakeseriouslytheologicalordoctrinalfactors. Mosthistoriansofthemovementseetheseassecondarytosocialoreconomiccauses andareinfactdismissiveoftheintellectualfoundationsofthePrimitiveBaptists. WilliamWarrenSweetassertsthat"oppositiontomissionsandeducationdeveloped toBaptistwritersagainstmissionswhomadetheirargumentsbeforetheriseofthe PrimitiveBaptistsect. ^Forthesocial,economic,politicalandsectionalinterpretationofthePrimitive BaptistorantimissionmovementseeBertramWyatt-Brown,"TheAntimission MovementintheJacksonianSouth: AStudyinRegionalFolkCulture,"Journalof SouthernHistory36:4(Nov.1970): 501-509;WilliamW.Sweet,Religioninthe DevelopmentofAmericanCulture,1765-1840(NewYork: 1952),273-275;Sweet, ReligionontheAmericanFrontier,1783-1830(NewYork: CooperSquare Publishers,1964),58-76;WalterB.Posey,ReligiousStrifeontheSouthernFrontier (BatonRouge: LSUPress,1965),12-22;Posey,TheBaptistChurchintheLower MississippiValley,1776-1845(Lexington: 1957),68-79; T.ScottMiyakawa, ProtestantsandPioneers: IndividualismandConformityontheAmericanFrontier (Chicago: UniversityofChicagoPress,1964),145-158; ByronC.Lambert,TheRise oftheAntimissionMovement,1800-1840 (PhD.Dissertation);NathanO.Hatch,The DemocratizationofAmericanChristianity1790-1830(NewHaven: YaleUniversity Press,1989),176-179. Ontheprimitivist,restorationistperspectiveonthePrimitive BaptistsseeRichardT.Hughes,IllusionsofInnocence: ProtestantPrimitivismin America,1630-1875(Chicago: UniversityofChicagoPress,1988),90-92. 3 firstonthe[socialandeconomic]groundsmentioned.. andthenadoctrinewas evolvedtoupholdthatposition,"andthat"theunevangelicaltypeofCalvinismwhich itfosteredledtobigotryandintolerance."^T.ScottMiyakawastatesthatthe theologicalargumentsofPrimitiveBaptistsagainstmissions"wereessentially symptomsor... rationalizationsafterthefact." "Theextremepredestinarians,asthe poorerandless-educatedelements,weremorelikelytoneedcompensating rationalizationsfortheirunfavorablestatus." 'Tortheantimissionists,"Miyakawa concludes,"predestinarianismasacompensatingbeliefperhapsbelongedtothesame categoryasmodemracism,whichoftengivestheless-favoredclassesofoneracea feelingofsuperiorityoveranotherrace...andanextremeisolationismwhichcreates inotherless-favoredpeoplesimilarillusionsofsuperiorityover'foreigners."'^ Wyatt- Brown,however,statesthat"Theologicalobjectionstothemissionscheme...served asmorethanmerelyconvenientscreenstohidesocialandeconomicmisgivings." UnlikeSweetandMiyakawa,Wyatt-Browndoesexplorethehistoricalanddoctrinal backgroundofthePrimitiveBaptists. Indoingso,however,heplacestoogreatan emphasisontheirHypercalvinismastheintellectualfoundationfortheiroppositionto missions. TheirstrictadherencetopredestinationandthesovereigntyofGodin salvationdidcontributesomewhattotheirargumentsagainstmissions,butnottothe extenthistorianshaveclaimed. OfthosewhohavedealtwiththePrimitiveBaptists onlyHughestalksaboutthePrimitiveBaptistsaspartofastreamofprimitivismin AmericanChristianity. ^Sweet,ReligionontheAmericanFrontier,74-75,76 ''Miyakawa,154,157-58.

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